This year NAB NY was back and in a bigger way then many in the industry expected. As with a lot of you, I had more than a few questions leading up to the show about who was going to attend, as well as how many attendees and exhibitors there might be. To be honest, I think those were some pretty fair questions given that there had not been a NAB show in NY in three years. I was in for a real surprise.
The Floodgates Are Open!
I knew right away it was going to be an incredible show. As I arrived at Jacob Javits at 7am, there was already a real buzz in the air as exhibitors moved quickly to finish up their exhibits — and there were plenty of exhibitors to visit, both big and small.
There seemed to be a lot of focus on our friends in the broadcasting space. This NAB NY also had a very interesting “cine-broadcasting” flavor to the overall vibe. What is “cine-broadcasting” you may be asking? I define it as the merging of a traditional broadcasting mindset with cinematic looking beautiful pictures.
Audiences have quickly become accustomed to that and want that cinematic “look”. Did it all start with smaller form DSLR/Mirrorless cameras on gimbals in the endzone? Yes, I think so. The differences of image creation between traditional broadcast cameras and small form cameras were making me loopy.
Both types of cameras make some great images in their own right, but the difference was quite noticeable. Technical advances along with more engaged shot selections that take on the look of Madden literally changed the approach to production. The trend to a “cinematic looking” broadcast is full on and here to say.
Let’s switch focus and talk about switchers. Coming out of mobile unit production switchers always get my attention and the displays at NAB NY made me want to sit down and start punching a game! The ROSS Switchers and Panasonic Karios especially caught my attention.
Panasonic’s KAIROS Compact control panel is the perfect on-location panel, providing easy control of multiple scene/multiple output production on a device 50% smaller than the AT-KC10C1. The compact control panel has 12XPT style operation and allows up to four different scenes with user assignable buttons for capturing the action on-the-fly.
Both Panasonic and ROSS showed a very high level of sophistication and versatility. Both had a very smart workflow that would allow the TD to easily keep track of sources and output. I do have to admit even though a lot of work on switchers can be done on screen call me old school, but I still like the idea of a surface controller.
More is More!
At the show there was also a lot of interesting support gear and accessories. Who doesn’t need all of this gear to work and to get your image out the door? One new product was the Easylive.io from LiveU.
Production of all sorts these days, can take on a lot of different forms and one of the highlights of any NAB is seeing that new gear that will help make any production easier and more efficient, thereby allowing creative people to be, well, more creative. Easylive.io is billed as an all-in-one streaming production studio that one can use you to edit, mix and stream from a browser. Efficiencies count — whether in a live REMI environment — or something that you might need to do live and save for later.
We also had an interesting overall take on NAB NY from Sue MacGregor, LiveU Vice President of Marketing.
“We had a great time at NAB NY! It was exciting to be back in NYC after a 3-year hiatus. The show exceeded our expectations and its attendance projections (over 9,500 attendees and 250 exhibitors!) The lines to get into the show demonstrated how important it was for people to get out of the office (or their home office) and see and experience the technology firsthand. The show floor had great energy and we connected with so many customers, partners, and prospects. We had meaningful conversations with quality attendees who were serious about the industry and the technology they need to be more efficient. The introduction of Easylive.io to the LiveU family was a BIG HIT!”
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Davinci from Blackmagic Design on the upgraded iPad. I know a lot of editors that will love the idea of working on the iPad. Blackmagic Design also had one of the nicer booths of the show. Setting up shop their booth was the first one saw visitors saw walking into the exhibit hall. Elegant, yet functional, keeping with the familiar Blackmagic vibe. Visitors had the opportunity to try out a bevy of cameras while also seeing other products in the Blackmagic Design lineup.
The new IDX batteries are another product worth mentioning. Nothing says confidence on a shoot knowing you have reliable power. Wondering if your batteries are going to hold out is the last thing you need, because let’s face it we’ve all been there. If your power is lacking you need to look at IDX.
Additionally, I need to get some shine in on TBC Consoles based out of Edgewood New York. I know, that sometimes people who don’t do production all the time think everyone can just throw the (expensive) gear onto a folding table and make it work. However, if you’re building a world class facility, folding tables just won’t cut it. TBC Consoles showed off some nice clean work surfaces that are about as professional as they come.
Of course, it wouldn’t be any NAB without new cameras and lenses, right? Panasonic came right out of the gate with two new cameras. The AW-UE160 PTZ Camera features a newly developed 4K 1” MOS sensor that offers the highest sensitivity of the Panasonic PTZ lineup. The UE160’s new optical low pass filter also reduces the effect of moiré for clearer picture quality when shooting against an LED wall, which is especially important for rental and staging or worship environments and a high-speed frame rate will help sports broadcasters capture slow motion shots in HD for replays as well.
The AK-PLV100 35mm Cine Live Studio Camera is equipped with a large format, super 35mm Imager and PL Lens mount to accommodate cinema lenses for a shallow-depth look. The AK-PLV100 is a fully-enabled system camera, and is compatible with the AK-HCU250 and AK-UCU600 camera control units, making it a companion to existing B4 mount camera systems. For multicamera productions, the AK-PLV100 can also be used simultaneously with the AW-UE160 – which has the toolset to create a more unified look to capture a variety of angles & shots.
Fuji was there with the previously released X-H2 and also to talk about their fantastic new FUJINON HZK25-1000mm broadcast zoom lens, which offers 40x zoom capability and a focal length of 1000mm.The HZK25-1000mm is a box-type broadcast dual-format zoom lens offering support for two types of large image sensors. It can be mounted on cameras equipped with the Super 35mm sensor or the larger sensor equivalent to 35mm full frame, the company said.
The lens achieves optical performance that exceeds 4K. It also facilitates the use of cinema cameras, which is becoming more common in the broadcast industry. It enables cinematic visual expression, such as shallow depth-of-field for beautiful bokeh in live coverage of sporting events and music concerts, the company said.
This is where the whole “cinematic broadcasting” thing really takes shape. I call this offering the wolf in sheep’s clothing lens. If you just look at the box housing one might assume it’s just another box broadcast lens for sports and concerts. Nope. I would love to shoot on this lens, wouldn’t you?
Marshall Electronics was also a very busy booth with their CV420e getting my attention. The CV420e PTZ with digital pan, tilt and zoom looks like a no brainer. Utilizing a large Sony 1/1.8″ 4K sensor opens optional ePTZ maneuverability of HD images within the 4K sensor space. Controllable remotely via VMS, GUI, or Visca over IP command from 3rd party control decks as well as UVC commands over USB. Hardware control from Marshall VS-PTC-IP controller via IP and locally by IR remote included in box. A popular choice for sports broadcasters, Marshall always impresses this time with the CV420e. Built as tough as nails in the Marshall tradition. As with most Marshall cameras, this camera will be a top seller in no time.
Sign of the Times
NAB NY was by all accounts a very pleasant surprise and success. It was great to see lots of those 9,500 visitors at the booths checking out gear. I am sure based on the many conversations that I had, NAB NY was a sign of good things on the horizon for our industry.
I am thinking that 2023 will be even bigger and better.